


Day One Hundred Thirty-Three || Expenses

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [133]
Category: Naruto, Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blood, F/M, Gen, Vampires, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 07:57:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18824458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: Debt is a very expensive thing indeed for a Nightwalker. And Sasuke just keeps adding to what he owes her.





	Day One Hundred Thirty-Three || Expenses

Time is money.

And Sasuke’s been spending it like he’s got it.

Less and less is he attending to actual duties, while more and more he uses his nighttime hours to track his current subject of fascination.

No matter the term used to name her - witch, miko, twilightwalker - there is little denying the unique entity that is Hyūga Hinata. To his knowledge, she’s one of the last - possibly  _ the _ last - of the mystical people that, in times past, were claimed to convene with gods and spirits. Once revered and looked to for guidance in the land of the rising sun, they were later spurned and called witches as beliefs turned to superstition and fear.

Even his kind, and others like him - the Nightwalkers, the monsters humans consider myths and legends - thought the miko nothing more than scary bedtime stories of people that once collared their kinds like slaves and pets.

But here he is, studying her for...well, he’s not even sure the reasons anymore. At first he’d been driven out of wariness. A true witch, after all, has the power to bend a Nightwalker’s mind and body to their will. And such a thing is truly terrifying to even the strongest of their kind.

Then it had been a developing curiosity. Hinata was hardly a threat - just a college girl trying to suppress a power she knew little to nothing about, what with her mother dying when she was so young.

And now? Now he might be both someone to protect her...and the reason she has to be protected in the first place. At first dismissing the claims as Sasuke’s overactive imagination, his coven leader - and Nightwalker Senator for all vampires within Japan - has apparently been changing his tune and showing mild interest in Sasuke’s little side project.

And  _ that _ terrifies him.

Because Madara is about as ancient and powerful as Nightwalkers come. Vampires are among the most notorious and dangerous of  _ monster _ kinds. And there’s reasons - many reasons - why he’s lived this long, and accrued this much power. Him taking any interest in Hinata is something Sasuke had been praying to avoid.

All it took was that damn silver wound...he’d acted rashly, asked her to heal him. And while she did, it wasn’t in the sense he’d been hoping for. Rather than using her powers to manipulate his body into healing, she’d instead opted to give him something else: several mouthfuls of her own blood. A jump in nutrients like that, on a good day from a normal human, will help a wound close in about ten minutes...and he’d been running dangerously low on time.

Hinata’s blood had sealed it in less than five, and without a trace of scar.

Somehow, someway, Madara found out. And a warning from Itachi was the only reason Sasuke was privy to the event getting out.  _ How _ the old bastard learned of it, he’ll never know. Sasuke’s aware of how far-reaching and into every nook and cranny Madara’s information system is...but they’d been alone, behind her dorm building, in the middle of the night. It’d taken ten minutes altogether, tops.

How did he…?

Well, no matter. The point is, he fears Madara may soon catch on to his building  _ expenses _ . Beneath Itachi and Shisui, Sasuke is one of Madara’s top enforcers: elite officers that uphold Nightwalker law to protect themselves from exposure to humans. Him missing so much time is likely becoming more and more obvious.

And if there’s one thing Nightwalkers take seriously...it’s debt.

So...he’s got a choice to make.

Surely by now, Madara knows who Hinata is. There’s no hiding her from him now. Straight up leaving her probably won’t work - not if Madara is truly invested in learning more about her. And though Sasuke is strong, even for a vampire...he’s not on Madara’s level. Add in that most of their coven is blindly loyal to the man, and that means he’d also be facing most of his own family if it came down to it.

...except for the select few that have been biding their time, planning a coup against their timeless leader. He, his brother, and his cousin aren’t the only dissenters...but they  _ are _ vastly outnumbered. An outright conflict will just get them all killed.

And then who would be left to protect her?

No matter what he does, it’s going to cost him. And likely her. If he’d known it would come to this, he’d never have involved himself with her in the first place.

And yet...the only way he’d know she was someone worth protecting was to get to know her as he has. He...cares for her. Worries about her fragile little human self. While it’s clear she has her bloodline’s talents, she also has no idea how to use or train them. She got lucky when they met, but she can’t rely on luck all the time.

He’s not sure what to do.

So he decides to ask.

“We need to talk.”

Standing under a corner awning downtown, he’s bundled in a many-buckled trench coat, collar upturned against a light rain and Spring breeze. The clouds and dreary weather mean he’s out a bit earlier than usual.

“Uh...okay. Is everything all right?”

“I dunno. Hence needing to talk. I’ll text you the address.”

It’s a quiet little cafe, distinctly human. Hopefully there won’t be any of Madara’s spies lurking around, though he’s sure he’s being tailed. Watching as she enters, he gets right to the point as she sits. “You’re probably in danger.”

“I - what?”

“Remember the Senator I told you about? My coven leader?”

“Um...yeah, I think so.”

“He heard about when you healed me. And now he’s... _ intrigued _ .”

Hinata’s brow wilts. “...m-meaning?”

“Meaning...I dunno. He hasn’t spoken to me directly. But...listen: from now on, don’t go anywhere alone. And I mean  _ anywhere _ . If you leave your dorm building, you do so with someone.”

“But...Sasuke, I can’t -”

“If he wants to take you, he can. Easily. “

“W-why’d you have me come here alone, then?”

Sasuke heaves a sigh. “...because this might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Surely by now I’m being watched. I’ll walk you back, but...from there, please just - just don’t travel alone. And avoid it at all when you can.”

“...are you sure he wants to kill me?”

“I don’t know. But there’s also fates worse than death. And he can deal them.”

To his surprise, she doesn’t...look all that worried. “...all right. I’ll be careful.”

“More than careful. Pretend you’re paranoid.”

“At this rate, I’m n-not sure I need to pretend.”

“...Hinata, I -” A pause. “...I’m sorry. I brought this all on you.”

“Well, you also did so to save my life, so…”

“But I should have left it there. My damn curiosity is putting you in danger.”

“Sasuke…” To his surprise, she reaches out and lays a hand gently atop his own. “...I’ve been in danger my whole life. Seeing the things I see? It hasn’t been easy. It was j-just a matter of time before a Nightwalker noticed. At least when they did, you were there to stop them. And...I’m glad I got to pay you back a little w-with your wound. Though I’m sorry it’s bringing you trouble.”

“I’m far more worried about you.”

Something, ever so slightly, brightens in her face.

“I’m used to all this. It’s my life every moment of every day. Maybe you’re right - maybe something like this would happen eventually. But I still took it too far. I still -”

“It’s all right. I’m not scared. Maybe...that’s foolish. But, I dunno. Something just tells me it’ll be all right.”

“Can your kind tell the future?”

“You’d know better than me.”

“...well, either way...I’m sorry this is costing you.” A hand brushes back through his hair, but the other remains under her own. “...all my expenses are adding up. I’m racking up debt like crazy. Not a good habit for a Nightwalker.”

“Well...don’t worry about paying me back. As far as I’m concerned, we’re even. You saved my life, and...I saved yours.”

“...here’s hoping I don’t have to do it again.”

**Author's Note:**

> Oh golly it's late @~@ Had a long day, and THEN my net cut out for a while, so this is far later than I intended...whoops.
> 
> Dunno if this fits the prompt perfectly, but...meh, we're rolling with it lol. Given how long-lived Nightwalkers are, debt is a huge deal. Cuz they WILL live long enough to collect, and remember. Hence Sasuke being so antsy about it!
> 
> I'd...say more but I'm dead on my feet and my eyeballs are screaming lol - thanks for reading!


End file.
